Contraception
« Previous EntriesAnnouncing NFP Awareness Week
Monday, July 16th, 2012The USSCB has announced that the week of July 22-28 will be celebrated as “NFP Awareness Week.” It marks the anniversary of the release of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae and will afford pastors the opportunity to preach on God’s plan for marriage and family life. For an introduction to the Church’s teaching on contraception, [...]
“My Fertility is Not a Disease”
Thursday, February 16th, 2012Valerie Pokorny, a former editor of Lay Witness magazine, has a simple yet thought- provoking editorial posted on CNN’s website entitled “Contraception Denigrates Me as a Woman.” In it, she notes that the Obama administration’s dedication to making contraception more easily obtainable, as evidenced by the Health and Human Services Mandate, is backed by a subtle [...]
End-of-the-Week Round-Up
Friday, May 14th, 2010Bishop Robert F. Vasa, from the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, writes about human dignity and immigration in his latest column in the Catholic Sentinel, “Rights are not derived from law, but from human dignity.” I do not think the church would propose hiring “coyotes” to help bring people to the United States illegally. Yet, once [...]
Living “Naturally” — Updated
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010I appreciated Matthew over at Creative Minority Report sharing this conversation he had about “natural living” and the Pill. His interlocutor was advocating using more natural products and being mindful of all the chemicals we put in our bodies…then expressed her gratitude for the Pill. Just a snippet: I couldn’t hold my tongue so I [...]
Commentary on the Condom Uproar
Friday, March 20th, 2009It’s been a busy week here at the CUF office, so more on Pope Benedict’s trip to Africa on Monday . . . which, unfortunately, has been rather overshadowed here in the West by his comment (in an interview on the plane trip to Cameroon) that the distribution of condoms won’t stop the spread of [...]
Separating the Men from the Boys
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church” (Eph. 5:25). The problem is, most of us can’t just flip a switch and love our wives “as Christ loved the Church,” even if–especially if–we understand the depth of St. Paul’s words. Nonetheless, we realize that the Apostle to the Gentiles is trying to give [...]
Humanae Vitae: What to Do for the Next 40 Years
Friday, July 25th, 2008This is the last planned installment of a year-long series of monthly blog posts in preparation for the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, which was issued on July 25, 1968. In this series I have responded to the common objections or arguments against Humanae Vitae. They all amount to one thing: The dissenters do not like the [...]
The Conversion Value of Natural Family Planning
Friday, June 20th, 2008Ever since the publication of Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968, a great fear has cast a sickly hue over the pastoral work of the Church. This malady is simple to diagnose but difficult to cure. It can be stated this way: “We fear that if we teach that it is immoral to use unnatural [...]
The Health Case against Unnatural Birth Control
Friday, May 23rd, 2008There are many good reasons not to use unnatural forms of birth control, and this column will focus on some of the health reasons. Such reasons are so strong, however, that once they are seen they can overshadow the primary, religious reason to eschew contraceptive behavior. The “problem” with health reasons is that some folks [...]
Predictions and Fulfillment
Monday, April 28th, 2008In last month’s column, I surveyed several writers who viewed the Sexual Revolution and predicted dire effects, and I concluded with the predictions of Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae. The Holy Father suffered greatly and was widely rejected for his statements, but the others experienced no such effects. So, why was Pope Paul VI verbally [...]
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